Carving Pumpkins...

2012 Lane Creek Halloween Carnival

Every year this carnival gets better and better. This year we had a DJ who did a fantastic job! The kids were not shy one bit about dancing. Emma actually won a prize for dancing Gangnam Style! We had kids pole dancing and table dancing... it was awesome! Fox's Pizza delivered the biggest pizzas I've ever seen! Keith and I were in charge of the older kids' scavenger hunt and the mummy bowling. There were tons of other games and prizes, including the huge blow-up jumpy house and the fire truck, which are always a hit every year. My favorite costume this year was definitely, "Where's Waldo"!

Drew's girlfriend, Haley, got a new kitten!

New hats from Mr. and Mrs. Bush!

Mr. and Mrs. Bush are so sweet. We dropped by their house this past weekend to bring them some cupcakes and thank them for getting more books for the girls from the book fair. Ellie told them about her recent field trip to the Homestead Heritage and they brought out a lot of old stuff they had collected over the years. Mrs. Bush had an little old silver lunch pail that belonged to her mother with she was a little girl. She would carry 2 biscuits to school in it. She also had some old books and an old wooden cigarette box from the Revolutionary war. Another interesting thing she had was a spine of some kind of fish. It looked like Jesus hanging on the cross. Pretty amazing. Then she broke open some sand dollars so the girls could see the tiny doves inside. Our Maker puts his stamp on everything, it seems. Before we left, Mrs. Bush gave the girls some hats and fun activities that she put together for her Sunday School class. Below is a picture of the girls in their new hats.

Butterman!

Our crazy boys all have nicknames for each other, including one for Buster. For instance Buster is Butter-man, Tyler is T-dog, Alex is A-dog, Drew is D-dog, Ellie is El-bell, Elbow, or Homes, and Emma is Emma Bemma, Emma Lemma Ding Dong, or Peanut. Anyway, I just noticed, the boys call each other "dog" and  they call their dog, "man". Yep, they're a little insane. 

Poor Buster has terrible skin allergies. Lately he's been scratching his fur off. We've spent tons of money and tried every food, medicine, cream, spray, and shampoo. The vet has even tried shots, steroids, and antibiotics, but nothing seems to help him stop itching. Our latest attempt is to try to keep a onesie on him. The theory is the same as the thundershirt for dogs; it's supposed to make them feel safe. Anyway, he looks so cute in his little stripped pajama's. If these don't work, we'll have to try mittens on his paws.

I know how wrong this is, but someone forgot to tell Buster he was a dog.  He really does think that he's one of the kids. In fact, on Saturday mornings when we sleep in, the girls come and climb in our bed with us in the morning. When Buster hears them, he runs and jumps up there 1st so he can get the spot closest to his mama. If the girls beat him to it and snuggle up to me first, he just climbs right on top of me!

                                     Uh, excuse me, I believe you're laying in my spot! 

Kids say the darndest things...

Emma wanted to watch a Halloween show on t.v. but was afraid it would be too scary. I said, "It's okay Emma, this show is for kids. It's not that scary. Look at those 2 little boys on the show. They're so cute. They don't look scared." Emma said, "Well, they're not as cute as my brothers!" I said, "That's true, you do have some pretty cute brothers, don't ya." Then she said, "Don't even get me started on that, mom."

Where in the world does she get that stuff??? I think she hears a new phrase and decides she likes it and then looks for an opportunity to use it, whether it's appropriate or not. She always catches me off guard though. I have to just hold my breath until I can get into the other room and then I can let out my laughter!

Found a new way to cut long layers...

For everyone who really knows me, you know I'm too cheap to take my family to a stylist and pay them to mess up our hair when I can do it at home for free. hahaha. I recently found a youtube video of a woman cutting her own hair in long layers and it looked so much easier than any other video I have seen so far. She brushed all her hair out, then put it in a ponytail on top of her head, right in the center! She made sure every side (front, sides, and back) were all brushed straight when she gathered them in a ponytail. Then she brushed the ponytail straight and then twisted it all the way from root to tip to the left and trimmed off the ends, then twisted it all the way to the right and trimmed off the ends. Of coarse, being the great mom that I am, I experimented on Emma before I tried this trick on my own hair. I figured her hair was so long, if I screwed it up, I could always just trim it like I usually do. She needed some of the length cut off anyways. I have a before and after picture of Emma, but only an after picture of me. The picture where I look like I'm about to cut her hair, that was just to show you the center ponytail. I actually didn't cut it until I twisted it. I remember my friend Jenny telling me that a long time ago, someone put her hair in a ponytail and cut it. She said it was one of the best layered cuts she had ever had.

Making Halloween cupcakes!

Today we made Halloween cupcakes! After work, Haley dropped by to see Drew. She helped the girls decorate the cupcakes, while Drew annoyed them. After dinner, Drew and Haley took the girls to rent some movies.